Buddha at the Gas Pump 565. Iain McGilchrist
00:00
Two Distinct Modes Of Attention
- The hemispheres differ not by tasks but by how they attend: left narrows, right broadens.
- This attention difference produces two distinct worldviews: fragmented, abstract left versus embodied, contextual right.
Practice Focus With Broad Awareness
- Practice holding a very narrow focus while simultaneously expanding peripheral awareness.
- Use that exercise to strengthen both attentional modes so they function together in daily life.
Spiritual Practice Changes The Brain
- Long-term practice can reshape brain structure: right-hemisphere cortex thickens with use.
- Neurophysiological and EEG evidence links contemplative practice with measurable brain changes.
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Introduction
00:00 • 2min
The Divided Brain in the Making of the Western World
02:02 • 3min
The Sacred
05:29 • 2min
The Right Cerebral Hemisphere and Psychiatric Disorders
07:13 • 3min
The Importance of Attention in English
10:29 • 5min
The Importance of Embodiment in Spirituality
15:16 • 3min
The Right Hemisphere Is Good at Nuance and Both
18:28 • 4min
How to Focus Sharply and Maintain Broad Awareness
22:02 • 2min
The Importance of Balance in Attention
24:14 • 2min
The Relationship Between Subjective and Objective
26:38 • 2min
The Right Hemisphere Is Vital for Understanding Poetry
28:32 • 2min
The Neuroplasticity of Meditation
30:02 • 2min
The Effects of Psychedelics on the Brain
32:21 • 3min
The Left Brain Resists Anomalies
35:13 • 4min
The Evolution of Western Culture Beginning in the Ancient World
39:37 • 5min
The Importance of Teaching People Properly
44:25 • 3min
The Deregulation of Education
47:53 • 3min
The Left Brain and the Right Wing in Politics
51:01 • 2min
The Importance of Nuanced Politics
52:49 • 4min
The Decline of the Left Hemisphere
56:34 • 3min
The Rise of Spirituality
59:20 • 2min
The Future of Spirituality
01:01:33 • 2min
The Importance of Expanding Horizons Imaginatively
01:03:36 • 3min
The Importance of Modern Philosophy and Science
01:06:29 • 2min
The Master in His Emissary
01:08:03 • 2min
The Importance of Civilized Living
01:10:01 • 1min
The Importance of Trust in a Burgeoning Society
01:11:22 • 5min
The Left-Brained Society
01:16:05 • 2min
The Evolution of Humanity in the Renaissance
01:18:21 • 3min
The Renaissance and the Limits of Perception
01:21:33 • 4min
How to Overcome Achieved Savant Syndrome
01:25:59 • 3min
How to Save Your Second Book
01:29:10 • 2min
How to Get a Wire Going From Your Router to Your Computer to Say You're Not Relying on Wifi?
01:31:15 • 2min
Dr. Iain McGilchrist is a Quondam Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, an Associate Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford, a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and former Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Director at the Bethlem Royal & Maudsley Hospital, London. He has been a Research Fellow in neuroimaging at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore. He has published original articles and research papers in a wide range of publications on topics in literature, philosophy, medicine, and psychiatry. He is the author of a number of books but is best known for The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World, and is currently working on a book of epistemology and ontology. He lives on the Isle of Skye and has two daughters and a son.
Websites:
iainmcgilchrist.com
channelmcgilchrist.com
YouTube Channel
Facebook Page
Discussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.
Summary and transcript of this interview.
Interview recorded August 22, 2020.
YouTube Video Chapters:
00:00:00 - Introduction and Background of Dr. Iain McGilchrist
00:03:31 - The Story of the Spiritual Master and the Emissary
00:06:45 - The Sacred and the Divine
00:09:56 - Understanding the World: Left Hemisphere and Right Hemisphere
00:13:10 - The Left and Right Hemisphere's Different Views of the World
00:16:29 - The Evolution of Spirituality in the Left and Right Hemispheres
00:20:00 - Harmonizing Contradictory Perspectives
00:23:26 - Focusing Sharply while Maintaining Broad Awareness
00:26:39 - The Right Hemisphere and Consciousness
00:29:49 - The Right Hemisphere's View of Subjectivity and Objectivity
00:33:10 - Restructuring the Brain through Subtle Focus
00:36:39 - Personal Experience with Psychedelics and Anomalies
00:40:02 - Shifting Paradigms in Science
00:43:37 - The Evolution of Western Culture
00:46:56 - Breaking down institutions and the future of civilization
00:50:22 - Concerns about the Destruction of History
00:53:40 - The Importance of Education in Developing Critical Thinking
00:57:05 - Nuanced Politics and Discerning Patterns
01:00:30 - Fundamentalist Certainty and Claims of Truth
01:03:56 - The Decline into Dogmatic Thinking and the Need for a Change
01:07:13 - The Rise of Young People's Enthusiasm for Change and Education Overhaul
01:10:40 - The Need for a Spiritual Revolution
01:14:04 - The Relationship Between Physics and Spirituality
01:17:23 - The Humbling Experience of Writing
01:20:47 - The Importance of Trust
01:24:24 - Taking Responsibility for Your Actions
01:27:37 - The Role of the Left Hemisphere in Psychotic Behavior
01:31:11 - Dawkins, the Renaissance, and Humor
01:34:29 - The Illusion of a Divided Consciousness
01:38:05 - The Nine-Dot Puzzle and Frontal Cortex Suppression
01:41:50 - Introduction to the New Venture